This invention relates to apparatus for the dry salting of curd while in its pliable or plastic state for cheese production.
It is well known that cheeses in general are salted, and the salting operation is carried out on the final product by various systems, of which salting in brine and dry salting by sprinkling represent specific examples.
Salting in brine requires times which can be as long as thirty days, with the consequent drawback of having to tie up considerable capital for long periods of time. In addition, the brine can be a source of contamination, and can remove from the final product useful components (for example, fats) which if recovered are also salted and thus cannot be used. The starting material therefore undergoes an unjustifiable weight loss, with obvious serious detriment to production.
Dry salting by sprinkling is carried out during the curing stage while under storage, and this also suffers from significant drawbacks as it involves considerable labour costs, it being necessary to frequently handle and turn over whole cheeses which, in certain cases, can weigh many kilograms. In addition, their handling requires large storage spaces as the whole cheeses must be easily reached by the operator.